CS Mutua says privatisation of lodges will boost tourism income

Tourism Cabinet Secretary Alfred Mutua has defended the government's plan to privatise state-owned hotels and lodges, saying it will save them from making losses.

The Cabinet approved the privatisation of the hotels last Wednesday in a meeting chaired by President William Ruto.

The hotels and lodges listed for privatisation include Mombasa Beach Hotel, Ngulia Safari Lodge, and Voi Safari Lodge, all operating under Kenya Safari Lodges and Hotels Limited.

Other hotels approved for sale include Kakamega Golf Hotel, Sunset Hotel in Kisumu, Mt Elgon Lodge Limited and Kabarnet Hotel Limited. 

The presidency said that the decision was expected to help with the growth of the hospitality sector in the country and in the creation of jobs.

"These divestitures are expected to stimulate the expansion of our nation's hospitality industry and grow individual units through private sector investment," a dispatch from the presidency read.

"This move aligns with the ongoing rebound of the tourism sector that has been buoyed by the visa-free entry regime in Kenya, and promises to deliver increased employment and business opportunities in both the divested enterprises as well as across the entire tourism sector.”

Mutua said the decision would reduce the burden on the national exchequer since the facilities have been making huge losses despite government funding. 

"The hotels have been running at a loss despite the government pumping money into them, and the only way to ensure that they improve standards to run like five-star hotels is by privatising them," Mutua said.

He spoke in Mombasa on Saturday when he presided over a prize-giving ceremony at Sheikh Zayed School.

The government, he said, was not in the business of making profits but providing an enabling business environment.

"We are doing this to improve the economy. We also want to improve our marketing strategy to improve tourism in the country," Mutua said.

The CS said at the same time that the ministry was looking into introducing halal tourism packages to attract international tourists from the Middle East.

"We want to start halal tourism so that visitors from Muslim countries can come here and feel at home without having to worry about going against their religion. We want them to come and enjoy themselves, leave us money so that our youth can get employment," he said.

Tourism, Mutua said, has been a huge foreign exchange earner for the country, though the earnings have reduced in recent years.

He said that the government would invest heavily in the sector to revive it fully and improve quality.

"People now want quality tourism and I have recently had a meeting with governors from the six coastal counties to see how to improve the sector," Mutua said.

"We need to have lifeguards and beef up security along our public beaches. Like Jomo Kenyatta Public Beach in Mombasa, we are going to light it up, put lifeguards, put police and provide them with quad bikes for patrols," he added.

“We shall also build an aquarium for people to come and see some of the sea creatures at close range.”

All these, Mutua said, will be replicated along the public beaches on the coast, including Watamu, Malindi, and Lamu.

"We want to improve the quality of tourism to attract more tourists," he said.